Revolutionary achievements in the cyberspace
Alongside the advancement of science and technology, cyberspace is becoming an integral component of the space in which the nation exists, develops, and defends itself.
Over nearly a century under the leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, the nation’s revolution has secured monumental achievements—establishing national independence, state sovereignty, a socialist system, and the great national unity bloc, while building a robust foundation, potential, international standing, and a wealth of spiritual values. In this new era, these achievements must not only be defended within the physical realm but also preserved, disseminated, and promoted within the digital environment.
“Revolutionary achievements in cyberspace” refer to those accomplishments from real-life—whether digitised, manifested, popularised, developed, or newly formed within the digital domain—that are intrinsically linked to the national independence, sovereignty, national interests, and the path toward socialism.
On August 22, 2026, the Political Bureau issued Resolution No. 25-NQ/TW regarding the strategy for ideological work in the new context. This marks the first time that the Party’s ideological work has been formalised as a comprehensive, long-term strategy, complete with specific goals, targets, allocated resources, and defined responsibilities.
Resolution No. 25-NQ/TW establishes the overarching guiding principle: “Proactive—Sharp—Persuasive—Effective.” It further emphasises a shift in focus—moving from mere information management toward guiding public perception, strengthening the people’s trust, and fostering social consensus—while balancing the tasks of “building” and “combating”, conduct ideological work in a synchronised manner across both physical and digital spaces, leveraging data, forecasting, early warning systems, and modern technical tools as supporting capabilities.
The new directives set forth in Resolution No. 25-NQ/TW introduced a more direct, comprehensive, and timely approach to the task of “protecting revolutionary achievements in cyberspace”. This encompassed a holistic effort to safeguard the ideological foundation, public trust, data sovereignty, digital infrastructure, historical truth, the capacity to shape social perception, and the nation’s right to development within the digital environment.
New challenges in the context of modern warfare
Strategic competition and modern warfare are increasingly extending into the realms of information, data, and perception. In this context, revolutionary achievements face challenges stemming from information distortion—tactics designed to exacerbate internal divisions, erode trust, and foster widespread scepticism within society.
Notably, artificial intelligence (AI) can rapidly generate highly realistic text, images, audio, and video, blurring the line between what is real and what is fabricated. A single image or detail can be exploited to distort the understanding of an entire historical period, negatively impacting the public’s perceptions and beliefs.
Differences in perception, information-processing characteristics, language, knowledge backgrounds, and the specific interests of various social groups pose a significant challenge.
A major challenge lies in the adaptive capacity of organisations and the individuals within the system. Technology evolves rapidly, whereas processes, organisational structures, staff competencies, and coordination mechanisms often change at a slower pace.
When state agencies are slow to release official information—or provide content that is incomplete, difficult to understand, or fails to address issues of public concern—the vacuum is easily filled by speculation, rumours, and unfounded interpretations, which in turn erodes public trust.
Building a “digital ideological shield”
Resolution No. 25-NQ/TW established public trust as the ultimate benchmark and identifies the people as the primary agents in safeguarding the Party’s ideological foundation.
To build and strengthen public trust, policy communication must stay ahead—acting proactively and pre-emptively throughout the entire policy cycle, from formulation and implementation to evaluation—by ensuring the timely provision of official information. This requires a two-way mechanism: disseminating information while listening to feedback; engaging in both advocacy and dialogue; and providing guidance while remaining open to social critique.
Resolution No. 25-NQ/TW established public trust as the ultimate benchmark and identifies the people as the primary agents in safeguarding the Party’s ideological foundation.
Developing a skilled workforce, robust data systems, advanced technology, and integrated infrastructure is a key objective. Simultaneously, personnel tasked with ideological work—along with other relevant stakeholders—must receive continuous training. Above all, there must be a shift in mindset: moving from merely “protecting information” toward “safeguarding and shaping social perception.”
It is essential to proactively foster an accurate understanding, build a robust knowledge base, and cultivate well-founded public trust. Every major policy or initiative must be accompanied by a comprehensive digital communication strategy, utilising language tailored to specific target audiences.
Efforts to “build” and “counter” must be closely integrated, with “building” serving as the foundation to strengthen the ideological and digital resilience of society as a whole. This begins with fostering trust, fortitude, a healthy information environment, a coherent system of values, a digital culture, and the capacity to verify information.
A unified, rapid-response mechanism must be established to address ideological challenges and information crises. For any given incident, there should be a single designated spokesperson and a consistent set of messages—aligned across both physical and digital spaces. This approach is highly suited to the realities of modern communication.
Developing a cyber-operational force
To fulfil the mission of defending the nation and safeguarding the Party’s ideological foundation in cyberspace, the cyber-operational force must enhance its strategic advisory capabilities. This includes conducting in-depth research into shifts within the information environment and the impact of emerging technologies on national defence, security, ideology, and social psychology. Furthermore, the force must be lean, agile, powerful, specialised, and modern—prioritising personnel who possess a blend of technological expertise and knowledge in the social sciences.
Data should be regarded as a foundational capability. Any application of artificial intelligence must be integrated with human verification processes, clear accountability, and robust data protection mechanisms. It is also necessary to define coordination protocols for scenarios such as large-scale misinformation campaigns, infrastructure failures, media crises, or the simultaneous occurrence of multiple incidents.
Such protocols will hone the ability to monitor situations, provide strategic counsel, organise forces, and coordinate responses—ensuring that the nation remains prepared and proactive rather than caught off guard. Every officer and soldier within the cyber operations force must embody the essence of a military digital culture: possessing strong character, exercising disciplined communication, acting responsibly when using social media, demonstrating a capacity for self-directed learning, and remaining vigilant in protecting secrets and data.
The requirements for building a “digital ideological shield” in the current context can be summarised through five key pillars: a steadfast ideological foundation; a solid foundation of public support; robust data, infrastructure, and digital sovereignty; advanced technology and early-warning capabilities; and a well-organised force, effective coordination mechanisms, and strict discipline. In this framework, the leadership of the Party plays the decisive role; the people serve as the foundation, individuals are the central focus, data and technology act as the means, and practical effectiveness serves as the ultimate yardstick.
